The Middle Parts of Fortune: Somme and Ancre, 1916

A classic story of men in the trenches Frederic Manning, the author of this book, which is also known as Her Privates We, was a well regarded Australian writer and poet who settled in the United Kingdom in the early years of the 20th century. He moved in bohemian circles and was frail in health and a heavy smoker despite suffering from asthma. He was nevertheless keen to enlist when war came in 1914 and predictably had some difficulty persuading the Army to accept him. In 1915, however, he managed to enlist in the Shropshire Light Infantry as a private soldier. He failed his officer training course. In 1916 he took part in the battle of the Somme and proved himself an able NCO. Subsequently he was promoted to Second Lieutenant and transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment where he proved to be unsuccessful officer material. His combat experiences, inebriation and poor health had taken their toll and he resigned his commission in 1918. Manning continued writing, producing poetry, novels and non fiction. This book, originally published anonymously, is based on Manning's authentic wartime experiences, but it is a novel. Its principal character, Bourne was named after a small English town where Manning had spent much of his time. The Middle Parts of Fortune is now considered to be one of the few true classic of the literature of war and tells the story, in the starkest terms, of ordinary men enduring the privations and dangers of the Western Front during the Great War. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.